Embrace Change
by Dragon's Destiny2k2
Summary: All they are there for is to dance. Focused around Heat and Shorty, not as a couple. Bust A Groove 1.


Note: Yep, I'm at it again. Writing another story, this one about Bust a Groove which I don't own. Anyway, as you'll notice throughout, there are many references to EZ-Mouse, but very few to Colombo. I don't know why, EZ just sounds better.  
  
Chapter One: GrooveTron Center  
  
Shorty walked briskly. She had a destination in mind. And no one would stop her now! Sharp left, right, right, third door on the left. She stopped in front of it.  
  
The mahogany shone. It smelt of oranges. A handwritten sign in Kelly's perfect handwriting read: COFFEE ROOM AND LOUNGE. Shorty smiled and knocked twice.  
  
The door opened an inch. Heat peered at her, and grinned. "What do you think you are doing?"  
  
"I'm going to get some coffee, of course," she said, in what she thought to be a very professional voice. He just started laughing. "What?!"  
  
"Yeah, right! Come back after you hit your growth spurt!" and slammed the door in her face.  
  
Shorty screamed, "Let, me in! Kitty-N, Frida, let me in!" She turned the knob. Her fist pounded against the door. "Meany!" She screamed and stomped away.  
  
On the other side of the door, Heat couldn't help smirking. Kitty-N glared at him. "Why must you be so mean to her?" she demanded. Heat suppressed a laugh.  
  
"She's a brat," was his only response. Kitty-N frowned.  
  
"No, she's not. Shorty's just rich and has low tolerance for your antics." Heat shrugged.  
  
"She's not that smart." Before she could reply, he turned his attention to the espresso machine.  
  
She gave him a look of disgust and surveyed the room. Frida was in the corner, occupied with her drawings, and Kelly was grabbing a cup of coffee before returning to work.  
  
Kelly was one of the most disliked. Maybe third. Hamm was the most hated- with the shirt that didn't properly cover him, and the way his fat wobbled when he walked, danced-or, what he called dancing-or just sat still- disgusting.  
  
Meanwhile, Shorty fumed in the entrance lobby. Who could she go to? Daddy wouldn't be able to pick her up for another four hours...  
  
Heat was out of the question, Kitty-N was still in the lounge, as well as Frida. Gas-O hated being disrupted in his lab, Pinky was at her day job, Kelly was going back to work (But even if she wasn't, still a no), Hamm was at the Burger Dog, and Strike was in jail. That left...Hiro.  
  
Shorty went to elevator number seven and punched the UP button. She still remembered when he had first come...  
  
He had been one of the last people to sign up. The day of recording the songs they would sing to dance to, all the women (except for Pinky) became extremely nervous when he had announced he would be singing "The Natural Playby." After receiving many stares of disgust/awe, he felt the need to explain that an Italian Playby was the equivalent of a ladies' man (I think?). After everyone knew, he became the most liked, much to Heat's jealousy.  
  
The UP button pinged. Shorty entered quickly before it closed on her.  
  
Kitty-N and Hiro's tower stood twelve feet high, and the elevator only had two buttons. Kitty-N was up in a suite on the very top, and Hiro was somewhere in the middle.  
  
Bright lights flashed as the doors slid open. The air had a slight smell of smoke, but it wasn't too strong. Hiro was sitting on a chair, reading the Tokyo Times as Shorty entered. He glanced up and gave her a smile. "Hey, Shorty. What menial tasks do you have for me today?"  
  
"Nothing. I just want a place to think...can I stay for a while?" Hiro nodded and she sat a table.  
  
"Mind if I play a little funk?" Her turn to nod as he put on a vinyl.  
  
She buried her face in her hands. Too bad her EZ-Mouse wasn't with her...she smiled. More like a tiny kangaroo than mouse.  
  
She let her thoughts drift off toward the GrooveTron Center. When it had first been bought, it was a depilated old seventeen room one-floor mansion. After being fixed up, they began to add. First, was the underground jail where Strike and several other prisoners were held. Then, they built Kitty- N and Hiro's tower, facing the city. Kitty-N's suite had entirely glass walls. Gas-O's lab was underground, tricky to get too because you had to go down an elevator to get to a small landing, than you had to jump on the fan and lower yourself. Heat's home-in a manner- was maybe four stories up, just as hard to get to as Gas-O's labs, first you had to take an elevator up above it, remove the tarp that hovered over the top and jump down. The "Strawberry Room" where Kelly danced was on the second floor and Pinky's "Palace" was the only ground level room and-  
  
"Want a Pina Colada?" Shorty looked up, a tad annoyed. Hiro was holding out a large glass full of the drink. She shook her head. True, it was tempting, but she was only twelve! "It's non-alcoholic." Shorty grinned and took it. Now back to her thoughts...  
  
The newest addition was Copoeira's tower. It rose above the clouds and the elevator took over twenty minutes to get to the top, where it went through the middle of the floor, and then went right back down.  
  
She took a sip of her drink. It was sweet and cold. Little shivers ran up her spine, as if she was doing something forbidden. Hiro HAD said it was a virgin...  
  
The rest of the rooms were off-site. Well, Frida's shack was only a ten minute walk away on the beach, but it was impossible to see the GrooveTron Center unless you knocked down all the walls. Hamm danced in the Burger Dog, but you could only challenge him at night. Same with Shorty and a few others, her father had bought her a square of the amusement park Wonderland.  
  
Shorty felt oozy and sleepy. Her head slipped out of her hands and hit the table...  
  
Heat sat in a stuffed chair, staring at the fire reflected in the window. Dancing was okay. But he wanted speed... 


End file.
